You there, Internets?

I am so sorry for the lack of posts, and if you are still checking this blog, you have patience! We've had some medical issues going on around here, and I just haven't had the time or desire to sew. Maybe after the dust clears from the holidays I'll get inspired.

I hope you and yours are having a wonderful holiday season.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The reveal....

No, I've not been on Extreme Makeover! I never posted a picture of this quilt I made for my cousin's first granddaughter because she sometimes reads this blog. I wanted it to be a surprise. So now that the quilt has made its way to Texas (finally), here it is....

It was a mystery quilt from the Pocketful of Mysteries Yahoo list. The pastels were left from my grandson's quilt, and the background was from stash. (Hooray for me!) The three colors in the upper left corner don't look like that, and I really finished it and just didn't send the top!

Too clean....

OK, my "studio" is also my guest room. My daughter and her family were here for Thanksgiving and it had to be cleaned if they were going to find a place to sleep. Well, I can find nothing. Nothing. My favorite scissors? Put up so I won't lose them. Along with the fabric I need for binding and my leaf blocks and fabric. I know they'll show up, but how discouraging.

And boy do I have scraps to cut. (Yes, I even looked down by the scrap bin.)

Who has time....

to sew??? Good grief, has my Christmas panic set in! I can't believe how much I have left to buy. It's scary.

Quilting goal for the week:
Get baby quilt in the mail.
Figure out what I want to do for my downtime handwork...quilting? Put on a binding?

Notice I didn't say "do it"...I just said to figure it out. Hope you are feeling the creative juices more than I am.

As we crowded around our little table today here in the barn, I had thoughts of past Thanksgivings. They may not have looked exactly like this, but the feeling was the same. I loved being with all my aunts and uncles and cousins when I was a kid. As the grandkids whizzed by and the dogs barked, I found myself hoping that the kids would have memories that would make them feel as good as I do now when they are my age.

It was a wonderful day here, and all of our children and families were here to share it with us at one time or another. It doesn't get any better. (The food was great, too! We had an unexpected dish of turkey enchiladas from our son the chef that were wonderful!)
Don't you love the guy down in the right bottom corner? We're included!

While on our two week vacation in Hawaii, I got to see lots of Hawaiian quilting. These two quilts were owned by the museum that sponsored the trip we were on. The first is a beautiful example of Hawaiian quilting. It was the woman's first quilt, too.
This quilt won a contemporary quilt award at a show in Hawaii. On it is a picture of the restored sugar mill at the museum onn Molokai. It is a beautiful quilt.
There were several quilters on the tour, and our tour leader, in the blue shirt above, gathered all the books she could find on the island so we could buy them if we wanted them. I got one on traditional Hawaiin quilting.

Traveling

So I have been in Hawaii for the last couple of weeks. I saw one particularly beautiful quilt, not Hawaiian in style, but contemporary. I'll post a picture once I get the laundry done, Thanksgiving menu planned, and dogs washed.

Why no sewing has been getting done!

This is almost one of those "What I Did This Summer" essays we used to write in school. We went to south (way south) Texas for a wedding and good visit with family. No quilting was done. No fabric was shopped for. No guilt either!

Padre Island

Loading cows at Riata Cattle Company in Raymondville.

The happy couple.

Fall qpplique

Confession: I think applique is so very pretty, and I really don't know how to do it. I started this a couple of years ago just to try it, and I think it's 'ok', but certainly not good. It's all finished except the face on the cat and putting the back on, but it's gonna' be another year before it gets done. (Well, at least another year! I make no promises.) So one of my goals is to learn to applique to have some handwork to do while I watch tv. (Instead of playing stupid time-wasting games on the computer.)

Fall quilting

I'm almost recovered from the hayride, but will do round 2 this evening for a little while. Well, we've got the hay...why not!? So we will ride a little and roast some weiners and make more s'macos. Hooray!

Here is a picture of the fall quilt with the quilting. I actually bought coordinating fabric for the back, but then I made the quilt itself too long and the backing fabric wouldn't work. I went with a plain backing and decided to let the quilting show up by having it done in a reddish brown. I may work on the binding for it once I get these two 3 year olds settled down. They are exhausting this morning. I never thought I'd make them watch TV!

Hayride 2006

So the hayride was last night...I'm exhausted! It was a lot of fun and I thought I'd share a few pictures.

Here is the pumpking carving area early in the evening. We had 8 pumpkins carved and lit with candles. Their creators took them home.

This is my daughter-in-law giving her demonstration for making s'macos. She did a great job, and we had lots more s'macos than s'mores this year. To make a s'maco, take a flour tortilla and fold it in half. Spread peanut butter on one half, and then sprinkle milk chocolate chips and mini-marshmallows on top of the peanut butter. Fold up the tortilla and wrap it in foil. Place it in the coals of the fire until it's all gooey. Wonderful!
This was the first ride of the evening. After I took this, I jumped on beside my grandson, Peyton, in the red shirt.
On the quilting front, I gave the boat quilt to the mom-to-be when she came to the hayride. She really seemed to like it. I didn't get the label on. Bad, bad quilter.

Maple leaves

So the sewing room is packed up for a while for company and other business. We've been getting ready for the hayride. (bought 10 pumpkins and 70 hot dogs yesterday!) I haven't really been in the mood to sew much lately, but now that I can't, I really want to. Go figure. I did finish the binding on both quilts I had not completed last night. That feels good.

Here are a couple of pictures of the fabric I have been collecting for maple leaves. Right now I am making just one from each fabric, but may have to go back later and double up. I'm trying not to spend any money on fabric right now.

Here are some more of my finished leaves. I like the way some of the color and tones vary. I still don't have a creamy brown for the accent fabric.

Woodward Sid....

my daughter's Cabbage Patch doll, had a tiny little makeover. He has new velcro closing his jacket and pants. The old stuff was a little ragged after 26 or so years. He is ready to be loved by her son now. (Circle of life??) Now if I could just find his shoes.

Every post these days is about how I'm not getting any sewing done. Well, this is another one. Fall is my favorite time of year and a couple of years ago, I got the bright idea to have a hayride. It was fun. So before the night was over the next year's hayride was being planned, and it has 'sploded! This year we are expecting about 50 people. This is a picture of the first ride at last year's party. My poor husband.

We carve pumpkins, have a big campfire, roast weiners and marshmallows, and, of course, ride, ride, ride. My husband teases me about my ambitious plans, but he's the one who wants to get glow sticks so we can put jack-o-lanterns in trees.

On the sewing front, I am slowly making leaves for the Maple Leaf quilt. I really like doing them one at a time and thinking about each leaf as I do it. It's a nice change from speed piecing. I am really liking the fabrics I've picked out, too. I'm going to finish up a leaf this morning and then pack up the sewing area for out-of-town guests coming for the hayride. I have a busy fall planned until Thanksgiving, and I don't know how much sewing will get done.

I'm working on the binding for a baby quilt cause the little Momma' will be here for the hayride, and I'd like to give her the quilt then. And the fall charm quilt is back from the machine quilter. It looks really good. It just has a plain muslim backing, and the brown feathers look really pretty.

Much to do...I'm outta' here.

The reason I've not been sewing.....

So what little kid gets a week off for fall break? My oldest grandson! We took off for a little trip and went to Mammoth Cave. He is a cave lover now! We'll never hear the end of it!

And what did I do while there? Got out of the car....and my back was hurting. I swear, I did nothing but sit in the car and lift nothing heavier than a travel bingo game! Sheesh!

So this is the last glimpse of my littlest boy and his Mama as we left Charlotte. Did it make me sad or what? I dont' see him near enough!
On the quilting front, I am working on leaves. I have been collecting fat quarters for a long time in anticipation of this quilt, so I have some cool fabrics. I didn't even realize it at the time, but almost all of them have varied colors so there will shading whether I work on it or not. I've had lots of grandkids the last couple of days, so have only gotten 3 leaves done and one almost done. It's hard to sew and put ice on bumped heads at the same time.

And I was in Charlotte and didn't go to Mary Jo's. How's that for self-control?

Time to 'fess up

So I got the borders on my mystery quilt this morning, with only a little help from a little girl.





The confession part of this post is the new quilt I started. I was supposed to work on the medallion quilt, but I have not-so-neatly piled that baby up on a dresser out of the way. I've wanted to do a Maple Leaf for the longest time! I need 32 of these for the quilt pattern I posted a few days ago. I might get tired of these, but the different fabrics will keep it a little different. I'm not going to be chain stitching for hours.

So here is the Quiltaholics mystery I worked on this weekend. I have added 1 of 3 borders. It will have a light, a focus, and a light.

I didn't really listen to the fabric recommendations from the designer. I had seen this fabric at the store, and I wanted it. Wanted it!!!! So I got it. I can see that the middle design would have worked better brighter, but I loved the fabric. Wish I'd done a larger size. The quilt was in 3 sizes, and each had a different layout.

In the spirit of the new name of this blog, I will confess several silly mistakes...the worst was making 32 2.5 inch blocks in the wrong size. Didn't take long to fix it, but I was sure glad I had extra fabric. Bought it on purpose! Plus scraps....I luv me some scraps!

OK, Flori, masterpice may be stretching it, but I usually just get an all over quilting pattern, and I guess I didn't realize how following the quilting would make the difference. I may be spoiled from now on and want them all done this way.

In all spaces that had a lot of open space, there is a design. The blue had 3 blocks in each corner, and it looks really nice.

Each of the tri-rec (shudder, can't stand to mention them!) blocks are all quilted in a different pattern. It sure adds a lot of interest. All of the tri recs ( ugh) triangles, all million of them, are done 1/4 inch.

Most of the regular blocks are just 1/4 inch quilted or in the ditch. I'm really pleased with it. And the little boat quilt turned out real cute. It has a wave pattern.



Here is as far as I have gotten on the Mystery quilt. This is clue 1 and 2 for the small size.

Ooooooo, the excitement!

Quiltaholics Mystery Quilt starts today at 10:00. I'm ready!

On another note: remember the Quilt of Which We Do Not Speak? I don't think I told you, but the long-arm quilters loved it. Thought it was beautiful. I think it's in their job description to oooze over quilts, but I digress. I really think they liked this one 'cause Norma says, "Let me play with it. I'll make you like it." So, of course, I say, "And how much will this cost?" and she tells me just the basic like an all over pattern.

The quilt. Is. Beautiful. Patterns in all blanks spaces. All blocks different, some outlined. Beautiful. And I do love the backing fabric. Makes me wish I'd done a better job on the front.

Maybe I should name it Quilting Confessions???